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Aloes in Wonderland lives up to its name

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Aloes in Wonderland in Santa Barbara is a great place to visit at any time of the year, but it really lives up to its name when the aloes are in bloom in the winter. There are public gardens that have fantastic aloe flower displays, including the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek and the Huntington in San Marino, but Aloes in Wonderland is unique: It’s plantsman Jeff Chemnick’s home and private botanical garden featuring cycads, exotic trees, cacti, and, of course, aloes. It’s also a nursery, but unlike any other I’ve ever seen or heard of: Every plant in Jeff’s garden is for sale. You make an appointment, walk around the 4 acre property with Jeff, pick out the plant you want, get out your shovel, dig it up, and take it home. Or have Jeff’s team or your own landscaper do the hard work. With the exception of cycad seedlings, Jeff doesn’t sell pre-potted plants. Everything is in the ground, and many plants are specimen size. Aloes in Wonderland is the place to go if you want a 15 f...

Planting the newly gained space in the front yard

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I didn’t expect to have an update so soon on the newly gained space on the street side of the relocated fence section ( details here ). However, with 5+ days of rain in the forecast, I decided to get busy before everything gets too soggy. This is where I started on Thursday morning, two days after the fence project was completed: The first step was to get more rocks. I picked the same rocks I used for the new succulent mounds in the backyard ( see here ). The rock yard where I got them calls them “Red Rustic Boulders.” Fortunately, they still had plenty available. I got 600 pounds, which looked like a lot in the trunk of my van, but not so much when spread out: For the plants, I went “shopping” in my own nursery. Being a hoarder has its advantages, one of them being a neverending supply of plants that need to go in the ground. I chose all aloes for the new space. Most of them were from my recent trip to Santa Barbara ( here ) and from last year’s trips ( here and here ), others I got ...